Key-opening can



To all whom t may concern,.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM HENRY GILBERT, OF OAKLAND, OALFORNIA.

KEY-OPENING CAN.

SFECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,162, dated August 4, 1896. Application iiled September 20, 1896. Serial No. 563,110. (No model.)

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY GIL- BERT, a citizen of the United States, residing in Oakland, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Key-Opening Cans; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to that class of keyopening cans in Which a wire is folded within a portion of the can or its cover and has one end projecting, adapted to be grasped or to be taken hold of and caused to tear the fold in which it lies.

My invention consists of a can the end of the body of which is provided or formed with an exterior Vshaped flange or trough and a wire lying in the base fold of said flange or trough with its end projecting, so that when force is applied to it the Wire will tear through said base fold and thus sever the outer wall of the ilange or trough and relieve the attached head or cover, so thatit may be separated from the body of the can.

The object of my invention is to provide a key-opening can of a simple construction,pro vidin g for the eiective disposition of the opening or tearing Wire, and especially providing, by the peculiar bending or construction of the flange, for leavingvthe edge of the can throughout its entire circumference folded upon itself and with a finished edge after the Wire has been torn out, thereby adapting the can for other uses, such as a pail, a cup, or such like vessel, requiring a finished and smooth edge.

Referring to the accompanying drawings7 Figure l is an elevation of my can, a small portion of the top being :shown in section. Fig. 2 is a similar view, the head or cover and the severed outer wall of the flange a being shown Separate from the can-body and remaining portion of the flange. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of the separated side-seam edges of the canbody,showing the disposition of the wire ends. Fig. i is an enlarged section of the can-top and head.

A is a can-body, the edge of which is provided vvith or formed around its entire circumference with an exterior V-shaped ilange or trough a, formed bybending the edge over outwardly upon itself, and thence upwardly again. The outer Wall of this flan ge or trough is higher than the doubled edge or top of the can-body, and it is upon this outer high portion or Wall that the flange Z9 of the head or cover B lits.

A Wire C is laid Within the base fold of the V-shaped ange or trough, one end thereof being bent around the vertical or side-seam edge of the can to hold it, and the other end being brought down outside of the can-body and formed into a loop, as shown at c, so that it may be engaged by means of a key, such as a nail or like piece of material, and can be pulled down upon with force sufficient to tear it out of its seat. This free end, in order to avoid accidental soldering when the side seam of the cani-body is soldered, is drawn sidewise from the edge as much as possible, and for this purpose the flange a is severed along its base fold for a very short distance back, and this is again closed up by the soldering-iron; but the loop end of the Wire is thus allowed to be carried away from the side seam and is in no danger of being soldered up, so that it is free to be engaged by the key. Then the Wire is drawn down by the key, it tears the flange or trough along its bottom fold, and thus the outer portion or Wall of the flange or trough which carries the cover or head is severed from the body of the can, which is left with the turned-over inner portion of the V-shaped iiange or trough, and this forms a finished and smoothed doubled top edge for the can, giving it a finished appearance, notwithstanding that the cover or head has been removed by tearing, and leaving it smooth enough to adapt it for use as a cup, a pail, and other like vessel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An improved key-opening can, consisting of a body, the upper edge of which is bent or doubled outwardly, and is carried down- Wardly close to the body, and is thence bent upwardly again, forming a base fold integral with the body and an outer Wall which extends above the plane of the folded edge, said base fold, at the side seam of the can, being normally torn avfay slightly, and a Wire lying in said base fold and having a projectextending portion of the bent edge, substanro ing end laid to one side of the sideseam in tially as herein described. the torn-away extremity of said fold, said In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my 'Wire being adapted, when pulled down upon, hand. 5 to tear the base fold Close to the body, leav- VILLIAM HENRY HLBERT.

ing the can edge doubled and nished, and severing the out-er Wall with its seated head Witnesses: from said body, and a head having a flange S. H. NOURSE, adapted tobe passed outside of the upwardly- JESSIE C. BRODIE. 

